Alyssa Rapp

Exec & lecturer in management by day. Wife, mom, wine enthusiast, athlete and entrepreneurial tinkerer by night. Author of #hacksthebook IG @alyssajrapp

[Craig Shapiro ⚽️ @cshapiro]

Proud to share that Tristan Walker is joining Collaborative Fund as a Partner.

In that role, he'll be a voice for the kind of company-building we stand for and a resource for the founders pursuing it. We've long believed that the best people to support founders are other founders, specifically those who have built enduring, values-driven companies through the full cycle of highs and lows. Tristan is a textbook example of that.

The relationship here goes back over a decade. I backed Tristan when he launched Walker & Company and watched up close as he built Bevel with incredible clarity and integrity. That journey eventually led to an acquisition by Procter & Gamble, proving that you can build a successful brand by serving communities the market overlooks.

Tristan's experience isn't limited to a single win. He was the third employee at Foursquare, an EIR at Andreessen Horowitz, and co-founded Code2040 to help diversify Silicon Valley. Today, he brings a wealth of governance and leadership experience from his board service at Shake Shack, Foot Locker, and Children's Healthcare of Atlanta. And he's still building: his latest venture, Heirloom, is working to reshore American fine craft, training the next generation of artisans and rebuilding the supply chains behind it.

At Collaborative, we look for builders rather than just allocators. Tristan's track record as a founder and his deep roots in both business and civic life make him an invaluable partner for the founders we support.

We're lucky to have him on the team. Between Tristan and Parker Hayden, who joined earlier this year to lead Collab Holdings, we've added two partners this year who love to build.

[Nikki Haley @NikkiHaley]

Never forget just how fortunate we are to live in the greatest country in the world. Today let’s all take a moment to reflect on the freedoms we enjoy and recommit ourselves to always defending them.

Happy 250, America! May God continue to bless The United Sates for many more! 🇺🇸❤️

[David Sacks @DavidSacks]

Legacy Media types are calling this Alex Karp interview a “crash-out” so that’s your first clue that he is actually saying something extremely insightful. He is articulating what real “AI safety” looks like in the enterprise.

Not abstract alignment research or certification by a government-run DMV for AI. Real AI safety for businesses is the ability to control their own data, model weights, and compute — so a frontier lab can’t hoover up their proprietary knowledge and turn it into their next product.

As Karp explains, technical customers want “control over their compute, their models, their data stack, and their alpha. They want to know they own the means of production, and it’s not being transferred to someone else.”

Don’t think that can happen? Just look at Figma. According to The Information, Anthropic “blindsided” its then-business partner with the launch of Claude Design. Figma’s founder said Anthropic had not been “consistently honest” with them. Anthropic’s chief product officer had even served on Figma’s board until three days before the launch of Claude Design. Figma’s stock has fallen sharply this year while Anthropic’s valuation has surged.

This isn’t an isolated example. Anthropic has launched Claude Science, Claude Security, Claude Legal, and of course Claude Code — each expanding into categories previously served by companies building on top of their models. The pattern is consistent: watch where value is being created, then move in directly. Dominate the model layer, then use that position to capture the most lucrative verticals.

Dario has argued that open source models powerful enough to compete with Anthropic are “dangerous.” But dangerous to whom? Not to enterprises that want to retain control over their data and workflows. Dangerous to a business model that benefits from customers having few real alternatives at the model layer.

As Karp exposes, true enterprise safety isn’t trusting that a lab’s future roadmap won’t include your business. It’s retaining the ability to choose — at the model layer — who gets to see and use your alpha.

[Alyssa Rapp @AlyssaRapp]

Go @Jimmy_StLouis @jimmysstlouisofficial ! The Single Number That Tells You How Your Body Is Really Aging https://t.co/blHJKkJMAP via @YouTube

[Cam Miller 🎥 @cammillerfilms]

In 2005, my friend/boss Chris Eckes at the #Reds HOF were sitting around joking about me writing a song about his favorite player Hal Morris. That night, I recorded this, playing all the instruments in my basement on a multi-track cassette recorder. I found the tape this weekend.

[Nikki Haley @NikkiHaley]

What happened at the University of Michigan is bigger than one speaker and it deserves more than an apology.

It’s well known Michigan has a large Jewish student body. The administration knew the speaker’s record and still handed him the mic—leaving those students isolated and targeted.

Protests on campus have repeatedly crossed the line: encampments, disrupted ceremonies, demonstrations at officials’ homes, clashes with police.

The first amendment must be protected but it doesn’t absolve anyone of consequences.

Universities have deep culture problems they must address. If they don’t, they should face repercussions.

[Nikki Haley @NikkiHaley]

Easing sanctions on Iran without real enforcement doesn’t buy peace — it buys them time. Obama gave them relief without accountability and they only spread more terrorism. A deal only works if we keep the pressure on.

[Andrew D. Huberman, Ph.D. @hubermanlab]

Resilience is physiological & actionable: Spiking your morning cortisol increase (which is what wakes you up & is healthy) with bright sunlight & exercise, shortens the duration and the amplitude of the cortisol response to afternoon and night time stressors, should they happen.

[Marc Andreessen 🇺🇸 @pmarca]

My information consumption is now 1/4 X, 1/4 podcast interviews of the smartest practitioners, 1/4 talking to the leading AI models, and 1/4 reading old books. The opportunity cost of anything else is far too high, and rising daily.

[Nikki Haley @NikkiHaley]

In 2024, the FBI came to my front door to tell me the Iranian regime had put a hit on my life — anytime, anywhere.

This week, the man who accepted those orders, on American soil, was sentenced to life in prison in a New York court.

Anyone who claims the Iranian regime isn’t a danger to America is ignoring how far its tentacles spread and is willfully ignorant about how far it will go to threaten Americans even in our own country.

[Neal Mohan @nealmohan]

Kicking off a huge year for sports on @YouTube and @YouTubeTV with this #SBLX spot 🏈

Thanks @JasonKelce and @nglwithkylie, @GordonRamsay, @CMC_22, @davidblaine and @SarahHughesNY for being a part of it!

[Sarah Langs @SlangsOnSports]

Most consecutive postseason games with game-winning RBI:

2012 Delmon Young: 4
2025 Jorge Polanco: 3 *active
2015 Eric Hosmer: 3
1990-95 Hal Morris: 3
1955-56 Gil Hodges: 3

Only Polanco and Hosmer had 3 straight in the 5th inning or later

h/t @EliasSports

[Alyssa Rapp @AlyssaRapp]

Go @leylahfernandez and go @AbdulSillah go!!!!

[Tennis Channel @TennisChannel]

"Thank you so much for never giving up on me." ❤️

Leylah Fernandez gives a beautiful speech after winning the title in Washington D.C. 🏆

#MubdalaDCCitiOpen

[The Tennis Letter @TheTennisLetter]

Leylah Fernandez dedicates her Washington trophy to her mom, sister, and fitness trainer:

“I want to dedicate this trophy to my mom, my oldest sister, and my fitness trainer. You guys have been fighting all year round and still are fighting. Thank you so much for never giving up on me. Don’t give up on yourselves. This trophy is for you guys. Hopefully we can celebrate all together very very soon.” ❤️

[Adam Schefter @AdamSchefter]

Scottie Scheffler on the “unsatisfying venture” that sports can be.

[OldTimeHardball @OleTimeHardball]

1990 Cincinnati Reds (WS champs)

- No player reached 90 RBI
- No player reached 200 Hits
- No player scored 100 Runs
- No player hit 30 Home Runs
- No pitcher recorded more than 15 Wins
- No pitcher recorded 200 Strikeouts

91-71 regular season and 8-2 postseason

[Alyssa Rapp @AlyssaRapp]

Hope you enjoy these #valentinesday hacks this #valentinesday from #hacksthenewsletter ! https://t.co/dGiyZXXa8X

[RedsMuseum @RedsMuseum]

January 14, 1999: #OTD in Reds History, fan favorite Hal Morris returned to Cincy when the @Reds signed him as a free agent. He hit .284 as a reserve for the 1999 team that won 96 & finished the season tied w/@Mets for the NL Wild Card. At 1B, Morris had played for the Reds from 1990-97 before signing with the @Royals as a free agent for the '98 season. #RedsMuseumArchives: BP & road jersey from '97.

[Jack Prescott @JackPrescottX]

Dr. Alex Karp came out white-hot at the Reagan National Defense Forum today and it just kept getting better and better. Every time he spoke was a mic-drop moment.

Alex Karp is one of the most important people in the entire world.